Through The Eyes Of Those That Judge Us
by Riko Ai Kumagai
Summary: Just when Naruto thought no one thought of him as a bakemono or a Kyuubi boy, a drunkard reminds him of what he is. But there will always be someone who doesn't think of him that way. naruXhina


**DISCLAIMER: I (sadly) do not own Naruto.**

"N-Naruto-kun?"

Hinata winced at the sound of her own voice; it was always so quiet and shy. Why? Why did it have to sound that way? Why couldn't she, for once, speak with confidence, the way she felt whenever she was around this blond nin?

"What's up Hinata?" Naruto asked as he walked over to her.

They'd met on the street, walking past each other. It was unknown to him why she had called out, just as all of her actions were unknown to him, but she had so why not talk to her?

"Ano..." Hinata began. She stopped and looked away, raising her hands to her throat in her nervousness.

Naruto cocked his head to the side as he waited for her answer. She was being a little bit strange again.

"Hinata?" he said again.

"No, nothing!" the kunoichi exclaimed. She had closed her eyes tightly and turned her head away. "Sumi masen, I didn't mean to disturb you."

She rushed away from him, leaving Naruto to stare after her and scratch his head a bit, wondering what her problem was. She hadn't disturbed him, but she was acting oddly.

As the girl ran back to the Hyuga mansion as though for her life, she mentally disciplined herself, asking all of the familiar 'why' questions that seemed to run through her head every day.

'Why can't I just ask him? Why can't I just ask him if he wants to go get a bowl of ramen with me? Would that really be so hard? What is it about him that makes me so nervous?' she thought furiously.

Hinata reached her house and ran inside. Neji was training with her father in that wide open space that was so often used for training again. Her father noticed her as she raced along the patio but said nothing. Neil also noticed, but was too intent in his training to acknowledge it.

She ran into her room when she got to it and leaned against the wall. She wondered why she'd run so much to get to her room, but her embarrassment had been fueling her the entire time. That was probably why.

Transparent tears stung her white eyes but didn't quite spill over. Hinata could not believe that she was so afraid of Naruto. Why couldn't she be like Sakura, or Ino or Tenten? Or even that Suna nin Temari had a lot of confidence. So then why was she always so afraid of boys?

She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes with a sigh.

0o0o0o0o

Naruto continued down the street and did something that tended to be rare for him: he reflected on life.

The memories of before he had friends had haunted his dreams last night and he wasn't sure where it had come from. But it had been horrible. Those dark days had been over for a while, had they not? Since that fight between Mizuki and Iruka-sensei.

Iruka had been the first to believe in him. Then Kakashi-sensei and Sakura, and maybe Sasuke had as well. But he'd left with Orochimaru, so he no longer mattered when it came to opinions.

No one had mentioned his demon in a long time. He knew it was forbidden to talk about, but he was glad it was no longer thought about at all anymore. He put his arms behind his head as he walked, satisfied with his way of life at that point. Down the road, he saw someone stumbling around in his direction.

"Nani?" he muttered, dropping his arms to his sides.

The man advanced on him, stumbling worse and worse. When he was within five feet of him, Naruto could smell sake.

'So he's drunk,' he thought.

When the drunk man saw Naruto he stopped and pointed a trembling finger.

"H-Hey," he slurred. "It's the Kyuubi boy! Bakemono! Get out of my way! Baka!"

He pushed past Naruto and continued down the road, still falling over his own feet.

His words hit Naruto like a slap in the face. The young nin couldn't believe that this man still felt that way. He'd saved the village before! _Why_ was he still considered the 'Kyuubi boy'?!

Naruto ran forward and off to a hill that he knew of.

"Kuso," he whispered as he threw himself down into the grass. "Kuso!"

0o0o0o0o

Hinata soon came to feel trapped and alone in her room. She decided she wanted and needed some fresh air away from her home. She walked out of the door unnoticed and as soon as she had closed the doors behind her began to run.

She ran for a long time before she saw a path she didn't know of very well and turned down it. She continued to sprint down it for a long time. She closed her eyes and a moment after she did this, tripped over something and was brought to the ground.

Hinata glanced over her shoulder at what it was that she'd tripped over and saw a blue shoe.

"Hinata! Dai jobu desuka?"

"N-Naruto-kun!"

Of course. Of _course _she had to trip of Naruto. Of all people.

There was a moment of akward silence between them and then Naruto said, "Why are you out here?"

"I just...didn't want to be at my house anymore and went running," Hinata explained. "What about you?"

Naruto looked away and didn't anwer, compelling Hinata to ask what had happened.

"I didn't think people still thought of me as the Kyuubi boy. I thought that was over. Everyone must think of me that way still, I guess. Ne? And here I was thinking I'd been accepted by the people of this village. I suppose I'll always just be that bakemono, the kid with the Kyuubi in him."

Hinata's eyes took on a worried, saddened look as she said, "I don't think of you that way, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled at Hinata after a moment.

"Arigatou, Hinata," he said. "You are always the one that has something good to say about me. Even to Tsunade-obaachan. I'd start to think you liked me, or something."

"Ano...maybe I..."

Hinata trailed off, realizing what she'd just said and blushing. The two sat together on the hill in the grass for a long time, and they said very little to each other. They didn't need to.


End file.
